The declaration of eternal emnity was made by a Christian writer who probably was under the influence of hallucinagenic drugs at the time. The Book of Revelation is one that can be translated or interpreted in a thousand different ways and has been...Not that there is anything wrong with prophecies delivered under the influence. The Oracle of Delphi did it, as did many other High Priests and Priestesses throughout the world.
On the other hand, why do we accept this vision of Satan as a red being with a tail and three-pronged Pitchfork officiating over the realm of the 'damned' which is a fire that cannot be quenched? Why is this considered the personification of Evil?
Fire, like the Morning and Evening Star, once was worshipped as a God. It was considered the ultimate Power, Pure and undefilable. Lucifer was the 'Light-Bringer' as Prometheus who gave the power of fire to humankind, thus giving them the power to operate during the hours of darkness when otherwise they would be able to do nothing but sleep. Fire allowed people to live in otherwise uninhabitable frozen wastelands as well. How then did Lucifer who, like the other jinn, was made of pure, undefiled flame, become the Lord of all Evil?
Simple propaganda, so often mistaken for religion when indeed it is nothing more than a tool used by one group to gain control over the populace and wrest all power from another group.
Fire worship still is a characteristic of Zoroastrianism, an ancient Persian religion. Fire and Water were the agents of purification and transformation. The most ancient Fire Worship, like that of the ancient Germanic peoples, was not performed in any temple or building but in the open air. Where the Germanic and Celtic peoples worshipped in sacred forests and groves, the Fire Worshippers gathered on mountaintops or hilltops to light bonfires. Later, however, temples were built.
There are two different types of fires: wild and domestic. A bonfire is a 'wild' fire, usually lit by and for the entire community. The fire of the hearth is a domestic fire, lit and nurtured by a family. In some religions, each is associated with a different deity but in the case of fire worshippers, both stem from the same sacred source.
In contemporary Iran, Zoroastrianism remains a vibrant faith, and one of the most famous Temples of Fire is that in Yazd where a fire has been lit continuously since 470 A.D. Despite attempts to prohibit religious practices under Islamic governments, at least 10% of the population in Iran remain fire-worshippers.
In the old Vedic texts, Agni was the god of Fire and the Vedic poems are filled with references to him as well as the form that sacrifices should take.
To return to Lucifer and Satan, however, I believe that the Trident probably was the original form of the weapon that slew the Dragon or Sea Serpent rather than a Sword. God only knows how long tridents were used, but they probably originally were fishing tools rather than arena weapons. The gladiatorial pairing of Trident and Net in ancient Rome only mirrored older fishing practices.
A road development project in England near Carlisle uncovered a wooden trident. Two wooden tridents dating back 6000 years are displayed in the Tullie Museum in Carlisle. The tridents all were made from a single plank of mature Oak. They are very heavy and would not have been practical either for fishing or for farming use. They may have been ritual objects, rather like the standards carried by kings or chieftains. At least that would be MY assumption given the fact that every trident from this period found in England to date has been almost identical and none of them would have made either good weapons or good tools.
It is not often that wooden objects of this age are found, as most deteriorate, but it makes sense that the earliest tridents would have been wooden rather than metal. Stone would have been very difficult to shape except in the Thor's Hammer form which I believe had the same significance and function.
